Lily Design System

Tab Bar Button

A tab is a UI/UX component that allows users to navigate between different sections of content within a single interface by clicking or tapping on labeled tabs, typically displayed horizontally at the top of a content area. Each tab represents a distinct section, and only the content related to the active tab is displayed at a time, keeping the interface clean and organized. TabBarButtons help group similar information in a compact and accessible way, allowing users to switch between views without reloading or navigating away from the page. They enhance usability by providing an intuitive, quick way to explore different content or options within the same context.

This component renders an individual tab button with proper ARIA attributes including role="tab", aria-selected for the active state, and aria-controls to associate the tab with its corresponding tabpanel. It follows the roving tabindex pattern where only the selected tab participates in the tab order.

Implementation Notes

  • Renders as <button role="tab"> for proper tab semantics
  • aria-selected reflects active/inactive state
  • aria-controls links to the associated tabpanel id
  • Roving tabindex: selected tab has tabindex=0, others have tabindex=-1
  • Should be placed within a role="tablist" container

Props

  • selected: boolean (default: false) -- whether this tab is active
  • controls: string (required) -- id of the associated tabpanel
  • children: slot -- tab label content
  • ...restProps: Any additional HTML attributes

Usage

<TabBarButton
  selected={activeTab === 'overview'}
  controls="panel-overview"
  onclick={() => activeTab = 'overview'}
>
  Overview
</TabBarButton>

Keyboard Interactions

  • TabBarButton: moves focus to the selected tab in the tablist
  • ArrowLeft/ArrowRight: moves between tabs (handled by parent tablist)
  • Enter/Space: activates the tab (native button behavior)

ARIA

  • role="tab" identifies this as a tab
  • aria-selected communicates selection state
  • aria-controls links to the corresponding tabpanel
  • Roving tabindex (0 for selected, -1 for unselected)

When to Use

  • Use inside TabBar to represent one selectable tab that reveals its associated content panel
  • Use with selected state to indicate the currently active tab
  • Use with aria-controls to associate the tab with its content panel

When Not to Use

  • Do not use outside of a TabBar -- it has no standalone meaning without a role="tablist" parent
  • Do not use for actions that navigate to a different page -- use a link or NavigationMenu
  • Do not use for toggle actions unrelated to content panels -- use ToggleButton or SegmentGroupItem instead

Headless

This headless component renders a <button> with role="tab", aria-selected, aria-controls, and roving tabindex for proper tab semantics and keyboard navigation. The consumer provides all visual styling including active/inactive states, typography, and spacing.

Styles

The consumer provides all CSS styling. The component renders with a .tab-bar-button class for targeting. No default styles are included — this is a fully headless component.

Testing

  • Verify the component renders a <button> element with class tab-bar-button
  • Verify role="tab"` identifies this as a tab
  • Verify keyboard interactions work correctly
  • Verify pass-through attributes are applied

Advice

  • Designers: Visually differentiate the selected tab from unselected tabs using weight, color, or an underline indicator. Maintain consistent tab sizing so the layout does not shift on selection.
  • Developers: Set the controls prop to the id of the associated role="tabpanel" element. Manage the selected prop from the parent to keep tab and panel state synchronized.

Composition

TabBarButton is designed to be used as a child of TabBar. The TabBar provides the role="tablist" container with arrow key navigation, and each TabBarButton provides an individual role="tab" button with selection state.

Related components

  • tab-bar — a group of tabs for switching between content panels

References

  • WAI-ARIA TabBarButtons Pattern: https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/apg/patterns/tabs/
  • WAI-ARIA TabBarButton Role: https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-1.2/#tab